Seoul is adding a KRW5 trillion ($3.5B) pool for chip materials, equipment, parts, and outsourced fabrication so smaller suppliers share in the AI boom alongside the country’s two memory leaders.
Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik announced the fund at a Monday briefing, saying policy must ensure the country’s three megaprojects benefit small and medium-sized enterprises, not just large conglomerates. Another KRW1 trillion will go toward joint semiconductor growth over the next decade.
The announcement follows a meeting where President Lee Jae-myung urged officials to move with the speed of lightning in implementing the AI and semiconductor investment initiative.
The two memory giants, meanwhile, have committed about KRW800 trillion to a chip cluster in the southwest.
Policy backing also strengthened this week when the Special Semiconductor Act formally took effect Tuesday, and a special law for megaproject zones is planned by year-end to speed licensing, environmental assessments, and infrastructure work, though a proposed exemption from the 52-hour workweek rule remains contentious.
The fund aims to build an ecosystem where materials, equipment, and fabless firms grow alongside the memory giants as Korea competes with China and the US in AI chips.
